STS, the largest bookmaker in Poland, is going to open premium outlets. STS claims that despite the development on the Internet, stationery business still makes sense.

STS has the largest share in the domestic market. The company generates the majority of revenues on the internet, but states that the fixed-line network being built since the 1990s still accounts for around 20% revenues.

“We will invest over a dozen million PLN in launching premium premises in the largest Polish cities. The first facility of this type has already started in Szczecin, and the next will be opened in Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków and Gdańsk. Standard premises have about 30-35 square meters of space, these will have more than 150 sq m. We want top locations so that these facilities can serve as a showcase of the company,” Mateusz Juroszek, president of STS said.

“A few years ago, it seemed that the bookmaking business would quickly move to the internet and keeping the stationery premises would have no point. However, it did not happen – and there is no indication that this will happen. Land-based outlets have a large, loyal group of clients, and – contrary to stereotypes – they are not, above all, old people staying in them. The average age of a customer is less than 40 years,” Mateusz Juroszek said.

The Czech government is going to raise the taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling. The Czech Finance Minister Alena Schiller has cited an increase in average salary and purchasing power of the citizens to advocate an increase in taxes.

“The average wage growth [in the Czech Republic] between 2009 and 2018 was 45%, while consumer tax on alcohol was last increased in 2010 and we will not raise it again until 2020,” Alena Schiller said.

As per the proposed tax revision, taxes on hard liquor would increase by 13%, cigarettes by 10%, sports betting by 2% and lotteries and games of chance by 7%. The revised and increased taxation could chip in an additional 10 billion crowns in annual tax revenue once it comes into effect.

“Both the World Health Organization and the OECD recommend that we do something about alcohol and tobacco consumption, and one of the most effective recommendations is a higher tax burden,” Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech said.

BETFAN, which debuted on the Polish bookmaker market, wants to attract players with innovative solutions. In addition to the possibilities of betting on sports, live betting and esports, as the only firm in Poland offers a wide range of bets on entertainment, covering peri-sports topics, as well as from the area of media, politics, show business, economics or even the weather. BETFAN currently focuses exclusively on the Internet, and intends to gain a position through intensive, modern communication in this channel and a rich package of benefits for the players. Within the span of 3-4 years, BETFAN wants to be ranked among the 5 largest licensed bookmakers in the country.

“We want to change the perception of bookmaker bets. Therefore, we are not focusing solely on just sporting events and their results, we look closely to the surroundings and we try to offer our fans a variety of bets matching their various interests. With us you can bet on almost anything. In order to not to create additional barriers, we take on us payment of tax on games, and each new player can take advantage of the highest welcome bonus on the market, worth PLN 3,000” – explains Piotr Sienkiewicz, CEO of BETFAN.

BETFAN offers over 1.5 million different bets per month. According to the brand’s slogan: “You do not play, you will not win!”, wants to create the best possible environment in order to attract clients not used to betting before, to bet on selected events. Original and fresh content added on a daily basis, intuitive website betfan.pl with transparent modern design and straightforward UI/UX, as well as attractive promotions and financial incentives for the players, are the additional factors to build competitive advantage of BETFAN on the local market. What distinguishes this sportsbook from its competitors, are also innovative solutions used in the service of user accounts that enable simple and automated registration process using OCR technology, and guarantee fast payouts.

“We focus on continuous development of the offer and gaining an ever stronger position on the market. However, we do not want to follow the usual patterns, but through the modern forms of communication, speed, accuracy and professionalism, we want to provide the players with unique impressions and emotions related to betting on various events. We want to become the sportsbook of the 21st century on the Polish market” – comments Piotr Sienkiewicz.

In addition to the typical sports betting, BETFAN brings you the possibility to bet on such diverse and unusual events such as e.g. who will be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig? Will the Polish soccer champion finally advance to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in the 2019/2020 season? Which car will be the European Car 2020? Will Donald Trump resign from the presidency during his first term? Who will host the Olympic Winter Games in 2026? In which city in June 2019 will be the most days with rain? Which organization is the first to send a man to Mars? Who will be elected the next Pope after Pope Francis? What will the turnout be in the upcoming European elections? Who will be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms at the end of the 8th season of “Game of thrones”? And many, many more.

BETFAN started as the tenth entity in the Polish online bookmaking market. It is a company with 100% Polish capital, built on the basis of experienced management staff in the industry. Piotr Sienkiewicz, the president of the board, previously worked for ForBET and Totolotek. In the latter, he had the opportunity to cooperate with Grzegorz Kiczko, who is responsible for the operational activity of BETFAN. Jarogniew Muszyński, holding position of the head of IT, also gained experience in ForBET and Totolotek. The head of BETFAN marketing, Jakub Świsłowski, worked before for Onet, Agora and Polish Oil and Gas Company.

BETFAN has already proved its effectiveness and efficiency – it’s not only a bookmaker who the fastest obtained the permission from the Ministry of Finance, but then in the shortest period launched the activity – exactly within six months since obtaining a license. In the next of 3-4 years, wants to be ranked among the top 5 legal bookmakers in Poland turnover wise.